LAST 24 HOURS IN A NUTSHELL:
Top House hashtags:
Top Senate hashtags:
Interesting climbers
#iowapolitics (8th place House): Dominated by retweets of the Des Moines Register’s endorsements, which (unlike in previous years) follow a clear Democratic slate for the House. In the races we’re following, the paper praised Democrat Abby Finkenauer in Iowa 01, and noted that it has been highly disappointed in GOP incumbent David Young in IA-03, who it endorsed in 2016. This time around, it’s instead supporting Democrat Cindy Axne, who it describes as having a “get-it-done pragmatism.”
#flipfive (9th place House): A Twitter bigfoot here. This is George Takai’s campaign to turn five red seats blue – this time focusing on IL-14 and Democratic candidate Lauren Underwood, whose race is now rated a “toss up” by the Cook Political Report.
#wbadebate (7th place Senate): Tied to the Wisconsin Senate race, with issues largely focusing around the issue of health care and incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin’s support for keeping the Affordable Care Act. Another widely retweeted post recalls the 2011 GOP-led redistricting; afterward, an email emerged from then-state Sen. Leah Vukmir (Baldwin’s current challenger) that exposed her part in a clearly GOP-biased gerrymandering process.
GENERAL TRENDS:
On the House side, #climatechange is being used around the country after last week’s terrifying IPPC report (short version: we have a decade left to save the planet). However, CA-48 Democrat Harley Rouda has picked up the issue with particular strength, criticizing GOP incumbent Dana Rohrabacher’s persistent denials and “disinformation.”
On the Senate side, we have rare moment without Texas in the top three. While GOP challenger John James has had a persistently strong presence here, his first debate with Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow on Sunday evening pushed the race into the spotlight. Polls have shown Stabenow with a still-significant, but diminishing lead.